Letter to MALC from Community

For archival; not publication.

To the Members of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus,

As Mexican-Americans and Rio Grande Valley residents, we are disappointed that you have blatantly ignored the calls against state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.'s record that has harmed our Valley community for over 30 years. 

Recently, there have been disparaging attacks vilifying and questioning our decision as Valley residents to continue using the nickname “Sucio Lucio,” a moniker that previous community members have used to describe the dirty political tactics Senator Lucio has employed for decades. Sen. Lucio has earned the title of “Sucio Lucio” because of his anti-worker, anti-LGBTQIA+, anti-immigrant, anti-choice, anti-environment, and anti-public education voting record. 

Sen. Lucio’s campaign claims we are using this term to be racist despite knowing that we are using it to call out his dirty dealings and politics. El es un político sucio. If he is concerned about racism, why did he fail to speak up when it mattered the most? There was no statement issued by his campaign in response to the various Black Lives Matter protests that were held in his district at a time when race relations were resonating nationally and shared locally. He prefers to represent and maintain relationships with far-right activists, anti-LGBT groups, extreme anti-abortion groups, and more. We are Sen. Lucio’s constituents and are calling him out for failing us.

Sen. Lucio and his colleagues in the Rio Grande Valley have enjoyed years in office without listening to constituents’ concerns. They have used the Democratic Party label to get elected without question. Most of us have organized and lobbied with the support and training from organizations like Planned Parenthood Texas Votes and Texas Freedom Network, and have experienced first-hand our legislators’ refusal to talk with their constituents. The new generation of Valley voters will not stand behind representatives that vote for anti-LGBT, anti-choice, anti-worker, anti-environment, and anti-immigrant legislation. 

This runoff election between Sen. Lucio and Sara Stapleton Barrera is an opportunity for SD 27 to lead the conversation and uplift the voices who have been calling Sen. Lucio out on his dirty politics. It is time to elect someone who will listen and fight for us. We will continue to organize and call him out the way we see fit, as it is our community and our lives on the line. 

In community,

Ismael Melendez

Denisce Palacios

Jordan Fox Navarro

Vicente Martinez Jr 

Sandra Villarreal 

Omar A. Casas Jr. 

Michelle Vallejo

Ofelia Alonso

Victoria Guerrero

Sandra S. Barba

Jose Colon-Uvalles II

Claudia Michelle Serrano

Juan Villela

Rebekah Hinojosa

Nansi Guevara 

José A. Jiménez Jr

Deyna Julianna Loera

Veronique Medrano

Emma C. Guevara

Rudy Hinojosa

Jose Pablo Rojas

Aileen Garza

Jacob Brandon Ramirez

Nancy Cárdenas Peña

John-Michael Torres

Fernando Alonso Jr

Dani Marrero Hi

Natalie Marquez

Jacqueline Hernandez

Reed Smetter

Freddy Jimenez

Abigail M. Avila

Sissi Yado

Erika Galindo

Andres Bernal

Alán Díaz-Santana

Cristina Garcia

Margarita Gonzalez

Alexis Elicerio

JJ Gaitan

Madeleine Croll

Mia Croll

Jacqueline Arias

Rolando Garza Jr.

Jason D. Vallejo

Adriana Nieto 

Isidro Leal

Gisela Zuniga

Stephanie Alvarez

Clarissa Conde

Gonzalo Guerra

Jessica Conde

Andrea Juarez

Sergio Barrera

Carlos Repetto Ayala

Berenice Cruz Marquez

Flor Martinez

Amanda Lee Tovar

Joshua Teodoraquis Torres

Ricky Garza

Jimena L. Alonso

Mark J. Kawsan

Fish Fiorucci

Denisse Molina-Castro

Cathryn Celine Torres

Jose Guadalupe Villagran

Ileen Montemayor

Deborah Noemi Ortiz

Claudia Cuellar

Yasmine Gonzalez

Dulce C. Mendoza

Marisol Cervantes

Adrian Castellanos

Giselle Martinez

Norma Herrera

Stephanie Altamirano

Cynthia Carrizales

Derik Escobedo

Jazmin Gonzalez 

Cindy Candia

Denni Arjona

Sydney Ramon

Rosanna A. Cuéllar

Melissa Ortiz

Rafael Martinez

Andrea Negrete

Aimeé Treviño

Stephanie Perez

Flor Saldivar 

Juanita Renee V. Rivas

Sadie Hernandez

Josue Ramirez 

Josette Angelique Hinojosa